ST 4317 (Sun 22 Feb) – Blunder squirts

Author   talbinhoPosted on Categories Daily Cryptic
Solving time: 4:30

I found this very much at the easier end of the ST spectrum and should have recorded a faster time, but got a bit stuck on 21ac (CLIPPER), 18dn (UNIT COST) and especially 17ac (SQUIRTS). A few minor quibbles but the clues are mostly fine and I think this would be a really good puzzle for a beginner.

* = anagram.

Across
1 COD + A
3 SPARE TYRES (2 defs, 1 cryptic)
10 DI + THE RING
11 NAURU; (URANIUM – I’M)*
12 TA(M)IL
13 AIR (= ‘display’) + HEADS (= ‘nuts’)
15 ONSHORE; (S[c]HOONER)*
17 SQUIRTS (2 defs) – this took me well over a minute at the end, I couldn’t see past ‘squares’.
19 PER + SON + A
21 CLIPPER (2 defs)
22 STRANGER (2 defs)
24 CAP (= ‘crown’) + ON (= ‘leg’) – in cricket the on-side is the leg-side.
27 DO + G + MA[n]
28 BRASS + ERIE
29 TIMES + TABLE
30 C + HAT

Down
1 CADET CORPS; (COPS TRACED)*
2 DA + TUM
4 PRIMATE; (PERMIT)* around A
5 REGARDS (2 defs)
6 TENSE (hidden) – the definition is ‘Is it present…?’, as in the present tense.
7 ROUND TRIP (cryptic definition)
8 SHUN (2 defs) – short for ‘attention’ in military drill.
9 WELL-TO-DO; (LOO + WELD + [join]T)*
14 ASTRINGENT; (STRAIN)* + GENT
16 STRATAGEM; rev. of (MEGA TARTS)
18 UNIT COST; (NOS COS)* around IT – a pretty good ‘double whammy’, with the whole clue forming the definition and the cryptic indication.
20 ALGEBRA; A + (LARGE B)* – not sure ‘involving’ really works as an intransitive anagram indicator.,
21 CURTAIL; (RAIL CUT)*
23 ARABS; (BASRA)* – very good surface reading, but ‘fighting in X’ meaning ‘anagram of X’ is questionable.
25 PER + CH
26 ADIT (hidden) – an old word for an entrance to a mine.

3 comments on “ST 4317 (Sun 22 Feb) – Blunder squirts”

  1. Easy-ish (but definitely not four and a half minutes!). I thought there were a few clever things in here. ONSHORE is good, STRANGER, while easy for an old hand, is really neat, and CHAT is nicely misleading.

    Special praise to the setter for cluing ALGEBRA without using ‘supporter’, even if that ‘involving’ is, as you say, talbinho, a bit debatable.

  2. Agreed – a good one for starters.

    I also found the “involving” a curious anagram indicator in 20d but was pleased to see the usual “bra” indicator!

    For 23d ARABS are clued as “Foreigners fighting in Basra” which is all very well using another dodgy anagram indicator but – even if it has been accurate of late – if these people ARE in Basra and they are Arabs – they most likely wont be foreigners.

    Thanks to setter & Talbinho for the blog.

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